Cris Worley Fine Arts is pleased to announce William Cannings' triumphant return to Dallas with Soft Cell, his first solo exhibition in North Texas since his 2008 show with PanAmerican Art Projects. English-born Cannings has taken America by storm with his vibrant yet sleek inflated steel sculptures that he coats with glossy automotive paint. The British Invasion begins with an opening celebration on Saturday, December 1st from 6pm - 8pm and will continue through January 5th, 2013.
Those familiar with Cannings' work recognize his more figurative phase of sculpture that evoked an ironic sense of humor by using hard steel to create inner tubes, beach balls, and even inflatable chairs that looked like they were made of malleable plastic. Now, Cannings' sculpture has taken a turn toward the conceptual and abstract with slithering serpentine forms that seem to rise out of the ground and voluptuous wall mounted pieces that are coated with decadent color. Due to Cannings' process of literally heating and inflating metal, each piece still looks weightless despite its medium, creating a dichotomy of hard and soft. The seductive forms and visual trickery in Cannings' work makes it provocative, demanding to be touched.
William Cannings is originally from Manchester, England and currently lives and works in Lubbock as a professor of sculpture at Texas Tech University. He exhibits frequently across the United States including in New York, Miami, New Mexico and Texas, among others. This year alone, Cannings began a public sculpture in Lubbock for a TXDOT public art project, was included in Espoused, a curated exhibition at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, and was chosen for 100 Southwest Artists, a book to be published as part of a fine art series by Schiffer Publishing.
